


when you weren't looking

by My_King_And_Your_Lionheart



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries Fusion, Blood, Detective Inspectors Whisk and Tangredi, Fluff, Hospitalization, Kidnapping, Minor Character Death, Multi, Murder Mystery, Mutual Pining, Near Death Experiences, Non-Graphic Violence, Private Inspector Miss Ford
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-02-01 05:47:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21403405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My_King_And_Your_Lionheart/pseuds/My_King_And_Your_Lionheart
Summary: When John Johnson turns up dead right outside of Bittle's Inn, Detective Inspector Connor Whisk finds he has a lot on his plate. Between finding the killer and juggling his crushes on his partner, Tony, and the private investigator Miss Ford, Connor finds that life is worth a lot more when you have people to spend it with.
Relationships: Denice "Foxtrot" Ford & Tony "Tango" Tangredi & Connor "Whiskey" Whisk, Denice "Foxtrot" Ford/Tony "Tango" Tangredi/Connor "Whiskey" Whisk, Minor Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Jack Zimmermann - Relationship
Comments: 7
Kudos: 28
Collections: OMGCP Big Bang 2019





	when you weren't looking

**Author's Note:**

> first things first, huge shout out to the mods for the OMGCP Big Bang this year, they really were awesome and made this experience so enjoyable!
> 
> Second things second, huge shoutout to my artist!!! they're awesome as hell, and you can find their work for this fic here --> https://shadowfaerieammy.tumblr.com/post/189020094483/here-are-my-submissions-for-the-omg-check-please
> 
> Third things third, gotta give some love to my beta, lordbrosca, without whom I would have torn all of my hair out and cried much more than i already did over this
> 
> i really hope you guys enjoy it!!!

Inspector Connor Whisk never liked starting his day off with a dead body. It was gruesome business, and Connor knew almost everyone in Samwell, so seeing John Johnson’s cold corpse made his chest feel heavy. He’d been an unsettling man, sure, but no one deserved to get their head smashed in and left to be found in a back alley minutes before dawn. Connor turned to the men who’d found the body.

“So, Ollie, Wicks, how did you come by Mr. Johnson?” Tony appeared as Connor’s shoulder, notepad open and ready to record their responses.

“We were makin’ our rounds, Inspector. Had some deliveries to Bittle’s Inn and then we had some tire troubles. We pulled over to check it out and we found Johnson lyin’ there.” Ollie’s voice shook a little, but Wicks’ hand on his shoulder kept him steady. “He was just lyin’ there.” Wicks turned Ollie gently away from the body and Connor decided to give him a break. 

“Tony, poke around and see if anyone else saw anything. I’m gonna look around a little more.” Connor turned from his partner just in time to see his crime scene being disturbed. “Ah, Miss Ford. I was wondering when you would turn up.” Miss Ford looked up from the blood pooled around Johnson’s head and smiled when she saw Connor.

“Inspector Whisk! Fancy seeing you here.” Connor fought the smile threatening the firm set of his mouth. Tony, behind him, apparently had no such qualms.

“Miss Ford! Pleasure to see you this morning!” Connor looked back to Tony, who lowered his hand from the wave he had no doubt been sending to the private inspector. Miss Ford’s bright smile grew bigger as she waved back at Tony before grabbing at the hem of her dress to make sure it didn’t get in the blood as she knelt down. 

“Well, Miss Ford, what have you found from this crime scene that I’ve yet to even look at?” Connor couldn’t help the small smile his mouth made when she looked up, her eyes bright and her hair wisping away from the scarf she had it in.

“The early bird catches the worm, Inspector. As for this man-” she gestured to Mr. Johnson- “It seems as though he was caught by surprise. Doesn’t seem to be a weapon anywhere, but we haven’t checked the dumpsters yet, have we?” Connor looked up from where he was still looking over the area around the body.

“I’ll get my men on it right away.” Connor turned to where some constables were searching the mouth of the alley. “River! Jonathan! Grab Lukas and see if there’s anything in these dumpsters here.” Connor gestured to the bins before turning to look back at Miss Ford. 

“Oh, well, that’s fine I suppose. I just was looking forward to getting a little dirty with you, Inspector.” Connor felt his face get warm, and he turned away so Miss Ford wouldn’t see. He looked back at the mouth of the alley and saw Tony talking to the medical examiner, Justin Oluransi. Connor took the out at face value, rubbing his hand across his mouth and turning back to Miss Ford.

“I have to go speak with Dr. Oluransi. Excuse me.” Connor waited for Miss Ford’s nod, just to be polite, before turning his back on her. He made his way over to the good doctor, careful to not disturb anything in the scene around him. “Dr. Oluransi.” Connor nodded to the man. “Thank you for coming on such short notice. Mr. Johnson is just there; our men are going to take some final photographs and then load him up in the truck.” Connor gestured to where John Johnson’s corpse was still face down, and Connor saw the downturn of Dr. Oluransi’s mouth.

“Nasty business, this. I’ll get to work on him this afternoon. I’ve got a surgery this morning, but I should have the report ready for you tomorrow afternoon.” Connor nodded and then turned to Tony. 

“Ready to go, Inspector?” Tony nodded at Connor, but his eyes drifted to lock onto something behind Connor.

“I’ve got everything, I would just like to talk to Miss Ford, see what she thinks of all this.” Connor’s lips thinned out, but Tony was already moving past him to go speak to Miss Ford. He turned to watch his partner stumble over his greeting before both he and Miss Ford burst into gentle laughter.

“It’s cute,” Dr. Oluransi pulled Connor from his staring, “How obviously sweet on her he is. Do you think they’ll give it a shot before the month is out?” It took everything in Connor to not roll his eyes. The whole town had watched Miss Ford and Inspector Tangredi dance around each other for months with no resolution. This month would be no different.

“I would like it if you didn’t talk about my partner’s private life, Dr. Oluransi.” The doctor ducked his head, but the smile stayed fixed on his lips. 

“Is it so bad to wish happiness when we are surrounded by death?” Dr. Oluransi looked at Connor. “I don’t think he’d leave you alone even if they worked something out.” With that, Dr. Oluransi left Connor wide eyed in the mouth of the alley and moved toward where Lukas and River were moving Mr. Johnson’s body into a black bag. Connor clicked his mouth shut and swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. Surely, Dr. Oluransi couldn’t know how Connor felt. Surely.

“Whiskey?” Connor blinked back from his train of thought to see Tony standing a few steps away. “You all set?” Connor straightened his jacket and patted at the pockets.

“Yeah, I’m good. And it’s Inspector Whisk when we’re out on official business.” Tony sucked at his teeth and let out a sigh.

“Yeah, sorry, Inspector.” Tony shuffled his feet. Connor had to take pity on him; he was just too cute.

“Come on, Inspector Tangredi, let’s go.” Connor threw an arm around Tony’s shoulders and ruffled his hair before making his way to the car.

* * *

Once they got back to their station building, Connor began to look through the box of items found on Johnson’s person. Connor looked through his wallet, the wad of keys that led to different mailboxes around the town. Connor shuffled through scraps of paper that were in Johnson’s pockets, but some were just bits of newspaper, and others were recipes that Connor recognized from Bittle’s Inn. There was also a list of titles, some books that Connor recognized and some that he didn’t.

“Whiskey?” Connor looked up from the papers to see Tony come into his office.

“Tango. Did the coroner get back to us?” Tony shook his head, and held up a piece of paper pinned to a clipboard.

“No, but the Waffles did take inventory of the belongings found on Mr. Johnson, and he wasn’t carrying his book. You know him, Whisk, he always had it on him.” Connor nodded and rubbed his hand over his mouth. John Johnson always carried his delivery book with him. It was filled with addresses, times and dates of delivery, and package descriptions.

“That’s weird. Was anything else missing?” Connor rifled through the box again, just in case there was something there he’d missed the first two times around.

“No, but get this, I was looking over the blood patterns around where he was found, and he was almost definitely moved. Someone put him there after he was already dead.” Connor stood from his chair. 

“Well, then I think we should go out and ask the surrounding stores if they heard anything. The inn or the bookstore first, you think?” Tony tapped his fingers against the clipboard, thinking. His brow was furrowed and Connor had half a mind to reach out and smooth his thumb against the wrinkle. His hand stayed at his side.

“Well, Nursey probably isn’t even up yet, so we should probably go to Bitty’s.” Connor looked at the clock before letting out a small laugh. It was barely 7 o’clock in the morning- Derek Nurse wouldn’t be up for a few hours at least, and his bookshop wouldn’t be open until noon. Connor came around to grab his coat from a hook, shrugging it on. Tony disappeared from the doorway, probably to get his own jacket. 

“Tony, where’d you leave the keys?” Connor shuffled through the items on the desk, looking for the keys to the police cruiser. Tony had a habit of leaving the keys all over the station.

“Looking for these, Inspector?” Connor looked up to find Miss Ford standing in the doorway to the station, swinging the ring of keys around her finger. “Because I was hoping for a lift to Eric’s Inn. That is, if you boys are going my way.” Connor couldn’t tear his eyes away from Miss Ford, the vision she made backlit by the morning sunlight, light diffusing through her stray hairs. Tony bumped into his shoulder from behind and it shook Connor out of his stupor, although when he turned to look at his partner, Tony’s eyes were wide and his jaw was hanging open. There was a small smoldering burn in the pit of Connor’s stomach, and he gently nudged Tony as he reached past him to grab his hat.

“What happened to your car?” Tony had gotten himself together enough to ask Miss Ford the question, but he was left dumbstruck again when she tossed her head back and laughed, bright and loud.

“Oh, just a little fender bender. Nothing too bad, I’d say. Now, shall we?” Miss Ford spun on her heel, her polka-dotted dress flaring around her calves as she did so. Connor swallowed, before patting his pockets to make sure he had everything.

“Right. Um. Ready, Tony?” Connor looked to his partner and watched him nod. “Okay. Here we go.”

* * *

Eric Bittle’s Inn was a very cozy place, filled with dusty bookshelves and curtains that let in just the perfect amount of light. Tony was pretty sure that he would be able to spend days just sitting in the overstuffed armchair in the corner, just reading all of the history books that Bitty's husband, Jack, kept in the parlor. He had already spent a lot of days doing just that, getting tea from Bitty whenever the owner was in the kitchen. He considered Bitty a friend, so it would hurt Tony if he were somehow involved in this case, no matter how unlikely Tony thought that was.

"So, Eric," Tony stopped looking around the first floor of the inn to focus back in on his partner, and the questions he was asking. "What were you doing last night, around 11pm?" Connor didn't even have his notebook out, so Tony took that as him thinking that Bitty wasn't involved. 

"Well, Chowder and I had just finished with the dough and were ready to let it rise overnight, and I was doing one last walk around the floor to make sure everything was in order for today. There was some noise out back, but I just passed it off as a raccoon going through the trash." Eric looked at Connor with wide eyes. "You don't think that was-?"

"We're not sure what we think yet, Mr. Bittle. Is Mr. Chow around? We'd like to speak to him as well." Eric looked behind him.

"Yes, he should be just through there and in the kitchen. Would you like me to get Jack as well? He was upstairs, and our bedroom window overlooks that alley where y'all found Johnson." Tony looked back and forth between Eric and Connor. 

"Yeah, Bitty, that would be great. We're just gonna be in the kitchen talking to Chowder." Tony led Connor by the shoulder through the door that Bitty had pointed to.

"So, Bitty's fine. Do you really think it was anyone here?" Tony tried his best not to frown at his partner.

"No, Tony, I really don't. But chances are high that someone heard something, or saw something, or anything." Tony and Connor entered the kitchen to find Miss Ford already talking to Christopher Chow, both of them well up to their elbows in flour. Tony tried not to be distracted by how pretty she looked in her dress, with a red handkerchief tying her hair up, but it was really hard. She was just so pretty.

"Hi, Chowder!" The two of them turned toward Tony, with equally bright smiles on their faces. Miss Ford’s seemed genuine, while Chowder’s seemed uncomfortably fixed on his face.

"Hi, Tango! I heard you guys are on the case! I'm sure you guys will figure it out in no time!" Connor cleared his throat and pulled out his notepad. 

"We hope so, Chris. Now, I don't know what Miss Ford has asked you, but for the record I need to know if you heard anything suspicious last night." Chowder screwed up his face in thought.

"Well, me and Bitty had just finished up the bread for this morning, and then I went to take out the trash. That was probably, like, 10:30-ish?" Chowder scratched at his head, getting flour all over himself. "And then, I went home right after, so I crossed the opening of the alley, and I saw someone back there, but I have no clue who it was. It was just one person, and it was dark, but I think they were too small to be Johnson?" Chowder went back to kneading at whatever was in the bowl in front of him. "But then I went to my house, and went to sleep. And then this morning . . . happened." Chowder stopped working the dough, and he looked down, blinking hard.

"It's okay, Chowder." Miss Ford leaned her head on Chowder's shoulder. "You couldn't have known." Chowder sniffed once, before lifting his head, kneading the dough once more. Tony decided not to mention the tears falling from Chowder’s cheeks to splatter against the tiled floor.

"Thank you, Chris. I'm sorry that we've caused you distress, but you've given us good information." Connor looked at Tony. "We'll get out of your hair now." Tony followed Connor as he backed out of the kitchen, but not before giving Chowder a quick squeeze to his shoulder. As Tony followed his partner back out into the parlor, and he saw Jack Zimmermann standing in front of the bay windows, looking out onto the main street.

"Hi, Jack!" Tony gave Jack a smile, to which Jack gave his own, much smaller one, in return. "Did you see anything odd last night? Around 11pm?" Jack rubbed the stubble on his chin, frowning. 

"There was a group of guys out in the alley, but it could have been anybody. The street lamp was out." Jack looked to the back of the inn, as if he could see through the walls and through time to the night before. "I don't know what they were carrying, but they looked like some kind of sticks?" Jack focused back in on Tony. "I don't know if that helps any." Tony nodded at Jack, but Connor spoke before he could.

"Yeah, Jack, that helps a lot. Was there anything else?" Jack's frown deepened as he thought. 

"No, I think that was it, as far as last night goes. But..." Jack trailed off, glancing out of the window before looking back to Tony. "Those Aces boys have been watching the Inn for a few days now. I don't know if that means anything about John Johnson, but it's no secret how those boys felt about him." Tony nodded, writing Jack's statement down in his notepad. 

The Aces were a gang of men who worked at the docks, or in the less savory parts of the city that often stirred up trouble for the main Samwell thoroughfare. It was usually just petty crimes, though, like small robberies, or breaking windows. Tony doesn't think they've ever murdered anyone as long as he's been on the force.

"Thanks for the tip, Jack. We'll keep an eye on them." Connor looked between Jack and the window, then up to the ceiling where Eric could be heard upstairs. "You want us to station someone here, just to keep an extra eye out?" Jack's frown evened out into what might have almost been a smile.

"That would actually mean a lot to me and Eric, Inspector. Thank you." Connor gave Jack an almost smile of his own.

"I'll be sending one of our newer constables over, but I'd trust him with just about anything. Let me just step out to give him a call." Connor nodded a goodbye at Jack, and signaled to Tony that he was stepping outside for just a moment.

"Any possible way I could tempt you with breakfast? I doubt Inspector Whisk has thought of anything besides the case this morning." Bitty was walking down the stairs as he called out to Tony, the soothing drawl of his voice softened further by the morning hour.

"I don't think even Connor would refuse your cooking, Bitty. You make the best muffins in Samwell." Bitty laughed, shaking his head.

"Oh, you flatterer, you. I'll give you some for the road, just for that." Tony let his grin take over his face, smiling even wider when Miss Ford came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands off with a dish rag.

"What's that I hear about your muffins, Bitty? You wouldn't happen to have some for me, too, would you?" Bitty bopped Miss Ford on the nose with a gentle finger. Tony was entranced by the way her nose scrunched as she giggled.

"For you, Denice? I think Chowder's just about made you a full breakfast buffet!"

Miss Ford laughed, resting a hand on Bitty's forearm. Tony couldn't help but stare at her. Next to him, Jack cleared his throat, letting out a small chuckle when Tony forcibly shook his head.

"You know, one day you should probably do more than just look." Tony let himself pout just a little bit at Jack, who just laughed at him.

"If it makes you feel any better, she's usually looking, too." Tony couldn't help himself; his head whipped around to stare back at Miss Ford, only to make eye contact with her for a few seconds before she looked back at Bitty. Tony looked away, feeling his face heat as Jack laughed again. He patted Tony on the shoulder before walking away to put an arm around his husband.

The bell above the door chimed as Connor came back in, stowing his notepad in his pocket. He was frowning, but, honestly, that wasn't anything surprising when it came to Connor with a case. Tony seated himself at a table near the entrance to the kitchen, and did his best not to sit up even straighter than he already was when Miss Ford approached where he was sitting.

"Is this seat taken?" She placed her hand on the back of the chair directly across from Tony, waiting for him to shake his head before she took a seat. "How has your morning been? We've been in most of the same places, but we haven't really talked." Miss Ford smiled at him, and Tony forgot every bit of English he ever knew. Thankfully, Bitty interrupted them before the silence went on for too long.

"Here y'all are: eggs, sausage, and lots and lots of muffins! Enjoy!" Bitty set down a small mountain of plates on their table, and Tony was even more thankful when Connor sat down beside him, unbuttoning his suit jacket in one swift movement.

"Miss Ford, did you have a productive talk with Mr. Chow?" Connor tucked his napkin around his lap before adding a splash of milk to his tea and stirring it. Miss Ford turned her smile on him, and Tony let himself relax slightly in his chair.

"Well, he was just telling me about how there was a break in at his wife's bar the other night." Miss Ford crossed her legs under the table, and it caused one of her feet to brush against Tony's shin. She resettled deeper into her chair. "It was those Aces boys, you know? Poor Farmer had to chase them off with a baseball bat." She picked up her teacup at the same time Connor did, and Tony took the opportunity to take a big bite out of a still-warm blueberry muffin.

"Tony and I should probably go talk to her, then. Jack said he saw some of the Aces lingering in the alley last night." Connor put his teacup down, the china tinkling softly as it settled in the saucer. "As for you, Miss Ford, you're automobile should be out of the shop by now. Miss Ford checked her wrist watch at Connor's statement.

"Why, Inspector, I do believe you're right. I'll probably swing by the mechanic's right after breakfast." She picked her teacup back up. "It would be a shame to let Bitty's muffins go to waste, wouldn't it?" Tony finished his own muffin, washing it down with the rest of his tea.

"You are certainly right about that, Miss Ford." Tony turned to his partner. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You should have something other than your tea." Tony couldn't help the strange feeling in his stomach when Connor smiled at him and picked up a muffin. Tony looked back to Miss Ford and saw her watching Connor, a gleam in her eye.

"You're right about that, Tony." Connor's voice sounded strange, and he cleared his throat. "Always looking out for me. Don't know what I'd do without you." The words came out stronger, but there was still an odd note to them. Tony nodded slightly.

"Well, you'll just have to keep me around, won't you?" Tony tried to smile his biggest, but there was still an unsettled feeling in his stomach that he chalked up to eating too quickly. It had nothing to do with the way Connor's eyes softened at the edges when he looked at Tony. It might have, however, had something to do with the way Miss Ford was looking at him currently, like he was a puzzle she wanted to figure out.

"How long have you two known each other?" Miss Ford rested her chin on her hand, looking between the two of them. Tony looked to Connor, who seemed content to let Tony do the talking.

"Oh, about four or five years now. We were in the academy together, and then we came here. We've been partners ever since." Tony smiled at Connor, who returned it with his eyes. Tony could spend hours looking at the gentle way they crinkled at the corners. He tore his eyes away from Connor. "If you'll excuse me." Tony stood from the table before waiting for a reply from either party, making his way to the restrooms on the first floor of the inn.

Once he entered the bathroom, he threw the lock on the door and braced himself over the sink. Looking at himself in the mirror, he saw how red his cheeks were, the blush running down underneath his collar. He turned on the cold tap and ducked his face to splash some water on himself, careful to not get the collar of his jacket wet.

It was fine. He was fine. Connor was an attractive man, of course, and Miss Ford was beautiful, but all three of them were professionals, and Tony knew that professionals definitely didn't get crushes on their colleagues. Because that wasn't professional. At all. Tony turned the tap off, pressing his still cold hands against his face. It wasn't professional. He took a deep breath, and then another. He'd been living this way for years, and he could keep living this way if it meant spending time with two of the people he treasured most in his life.

“Tony, I’m going to head over to Nurse’s. Could you come join me after you finished your breakfast?” Connor was right outside the door, and Tony could hear the gentle thud as he rested his head on the wood.

“Yeah,” Tony’s voice cracked in an embarrassing way, and he cleared his throat. “Give me, like, five minutes.” Connor’s voice was soft as he responded, and Tony strained his ears to listen.

“No rush. I’ll be waiting for you.” There was a pause before Tony heard Connor’s footsteps echo across the flooring. Tony sighed. He gave himself one last look in the mirror before wiping his hands on his pants and leaving the restroom. Miss Ford was still sitting at the table.

“Well, I do hope you’re here to finish dining with me. Inspector Whisk left much too soon.” She was smiling, so Tony could tell she wasn’t actually mad at Whiskey for doing his job. Tony smiled back at her, letting his fists curl and uncurl on his thighs underneath the table.

“I couldn’t let all of these muffins go to waste. Would you care to accompany me next door so we can continue our investigation?” Tony let his shoulders relax and reached for his tea. It wouldn’t do well to let it go cold, after all. Miss Ford smiled at him before sipping her own tea.

“Unfortunately, I do have to go pick up my automobile, but I will be by afterwards, if you happen to still be at Derek’s.” Tony placed his teacup back in the saucer. He ran through the other people they had to question that morning, and judged how long he thought they would be talking to each person versus how long it would take Miss Ford to pick up her automobile.

"I don’t think we’ll be long at Derek's, but you'd be more than welcome to meet us at Miss Farmer's bar. We're going to follow up on that Aces tip." Tony pulled enough money to cover the breakfast from his wallet and placed it on the table, slightly underneath his tea saucer. "Now, I should be following after Whiskey, if you'll excuse me." It wasn't until Miss Ford laughed that Tony realized his slip.

"He lets you call him Whiskey? That's so adorable!" She adjusted her eyeglasses on her nose. "What does he call you?" Tony flushed.

"Well, he calls me Tango, but he doesn't like it when we're unprofessional outside the office, Miss, so if you could please not tell him I called him that in front of you, I would be much obliged." Tony placed his hat on his head and started to put his jacket on. Miss Ford laughed again.

"I'll do my best to not let it slip, _ Tango _." The smile on her face was downright mischievous, and Tony thought the sudden increase in his heart rate was rather medically concerning. He let out a deep sigh and closed his mouth from where his jaw had dropped the slightest bit.

"You would be doing me a mighty big favor. I'll be seeing you later." Tony gave a single nod of his head and turned for the door. That woman would be the death of him.

* * *

"I didn't hear anything last night. Though, I don't have a window that faces that alley. Why, what happened last night?" Derek’s eyes were wide as he looked at Connor. Connor sucked at his teeth, barely hiding a wince. This was the worst part of the job.

"I'm sorry to tell you, Mr. Nurse, but some time last night, John Johnson was killed. We are investigating the cause and looking for suspects." Connor looked Derek right in the eye. "Now, are you certain you didn't notice anything odd or out of place last night, from about 11pm to 3am this morning?" Derek looked around his book store, like something had changed in it over the last five minutes.

"JJ's dead? Jesus, you think you know a town." Derek sat down in an overstuffed armchair, resting his head in his hands. "But no, I didn't hear anything last night. I was at Farmer's until late. I don't remember what time I got in, but I don't think it was until about 2." Derek rubbed a hand over his face, thinking. "And I don't think it's weird, exactly, but I saw Swoops hanging around Bittle's Inn. But there's always some Aces punk hanging around there most nights." Connor took some notes in his notepad before looking back up at Mr. Nurse. 

"Was Swoops alone, or were there others?" Derek looked out the window and tilted his head to the side.

"Uhh, he was the only one I saw, but there could've been someone else." He scratched at the back of his head. "It was late and I was already a few drinks deep." Connor nodded.

"That's fine if you don't remember. Though, if you do think of anything later, give us a call at the station." Connor flipped his notepad closed and put his pen in the inside breast pocket of his jacket. He held his hand out for Derek to shake. "Have a good rest of your morning, Mr. Nurse." Derek shook his hand, once.

"You, too, Inspector. I hope you catch the bastards." Connor released his hand.

"I hope we do, too." Connor nodded once and turned to leave. Just as he stepped outside into the mid-morning sunshine, he looked down the street to see Tony leaving the inn. He raised a hand to catch his partner's attention, and Tony visibly perked up when he saw Connor. Connor tried to fight the smile threatening to overtake his face, and he got it mostly under control by the time Tony got to his side.

"Did Nursey have anything to say?" Connor poked Tony in the shoulder.

"_ Mr _. Nurse," Connor stressed the title, "Said he saw Swoops last night, around the time of the murder." Connor's face twisted up. "But he was drunk, so he isn't sure if he was alone or not. He also didn't see Mr. Johnson." Tony's brow furrowed as he looked past Connor to stare at the bookstore. 

"He doesn't have any windows facing that direction, though, does he?" Connor shook his head. "So Johnson could have already been there, and he didn't notice." Connor shrugged.

"We'll have to see what Dr. Oluransi says about the time and cause of death. Until then, we should keep asking around. Someone has to know something." 

"Should we go to Farmer's? I told Miss Ford she could meet us there after she picked up her automobile." Connor was prepared for the spike of jealousy at the way Tony said Miss Ford's name, but that didn't make it hurt any less. Who was he even jealous of? Tony, and how infatuated Miss Ford was with him, or of Miss Ford, and the way Tony was obviously smitten with her? Connor took a deep breath and pulled the keys to their automobile out of his pocket.

"Yeah, let's go."

* * *

Miss Denice Ford was a lady detective who loved her job, thank you very much. She carried a small snub nosed revolver in a holster on her garter and made it her business to stick her nose where it very much did not belong. Sometimes that ended up with her automobile in Dex's repair shop after she had a run in with the Aces or the LAX boys.

"Do I want to know just how this happened, Denice?" Dex wiped his hands on the oil rag sticking out of his back pocket. "Because there was some serious damage on your girl. And she was caked in dirt that was damn near impossible to get off without taking the paint with it." Denice smiled her sweetest.

"Oh, you know me, Dex. Sometimes trouble doesn't leave me alone." Dex put his hands on his hips, not fooled.

"You're keeping your gun in good order, I trust. It wouldn't do for our town to lose our favorite private investigator. I don't know what we'd do." Denice laughed, and Dex joined in.

"I'll have you know I could outshoot just about anyone here." Dex's grin turned sly.

"Even those Inspectors you run around with?" Denice flushed, but she refused to back down.

"I consider the Inspectors to be good shots, but we've never had a competition. It's all work and no play with them." Dex turned back to the car engine he'd been working on. Denice's car was finished, but she had missed talking to Dex.

"So, Inspector Whisk hasn't fallen to your charms, yet, I assume?" Denice took a dirty rag from the counter next to where she was sitting and threw it at him. He laughed when it hit him in the back of the head, and he turned back to face her.

"You know, I'm rather hoping you'll get one of them soon. Not that it would bring me a small fortune, or anything." Denice looked around for something else soft to throw at Dex, but there was nothing around. She turned back to her friend and glared at him.

"You know, some people would consider it improper to place bets on the relationships of the police force." Dex held up his hands in surrender.

"I won't say anything else, but I will tell you that Lardo also has a large sum on the three of you." Denice was momentarily distracted by Dex's comment about her best friend that she almost lost the latter half of his sentence. Once it registered, however, her thoughts came to a screeching halt.

"The three of us? Whatever does that mean?" Dex simply smiled and mimed zipping his lips shut and throwing away the key. "William! What does that mean?" Dex still didn't say anything, just handed her her keys and pushed her toward her automobile. "William Poindexter, you unzip that mouth right now!"

"You should get on your way, Denice. Wouldn't want to keep your boys waiting." Denice punched Dex on the shoulder, careful not to put too much force into it.

"Oh, you scoundrel. I will be back, and next time, I'll bring Derek with me. He'll get it out of you." Dex groaned.

"Please, don't. He'll mess up my tools or get crushed by a car." Denice smiled at him. "Oh, butter wouldn't melt in your mouth. Get on out of here, you." Dex waved her off and she waved back. She couldn't stay mad at him for long, as much as she would've liked to. Either way, she had her Inspectors to get back to and a case to solve. Heaven knows they couldn't do it without her.

* * *

Tony rather liked Cailtin Farmer's bar. It was rather dim on the inside, but there were bare yellow light bulbs hanging from the ceiling at varying heights, giving off enough light to see by, but nothing too bright. The bar was one solid piece of wood, and was stained a rich dark brown that went well with the dark teal walls of the bar. 

"What can I get for you fellas?" And there was Farmer, sorting through the alcohol on the shelves behind the bar. Tony saw Connor check his wristwatch and frown.

"It's a little early to be serving drinks, isn't it Ms. Farmer?" Caitlin smiled at Connor before turning to face them fully, resting her elbows on the bar.

"Well, there's a reason I don't keep clocks on the walls, Inspector. People are welcome at all hours, as long as they mind their manners." Connor walked toward Caitlin, and Tony followed, taking a seat at the bar. Connor stayed standing.

"We've just come to ask a couple of questions. Mr. Chow told us that you've been having some trouble with the Aces gang. There was a break in, the other night, correct?" Connor pulled his notebook from his jacket pocket, and grabbed his pen from another pocket. 

"Oh, it wasn't anything serious. That's why I didn't call you guys- I mean, I handled it myself. Chowder just worries about me being here late when he has to stay at the Inn past dinner." Connor smiled, small but sincere.

"He knows you can handle a couple of rowdy men, especially with that baseball bat I've been hearing about. But with what happened last night, I'm sure he's got a little more reason to worry than usual." Connor flipped his notebook open to a blank page and wrote Farmer's name on the top. Tony stared at the flourishing underline, slightly distracted by Connor's fingers around the fountain pen. "So, why don't you tell me about this break-in. Just for protocol's sake, you understand." Caitlin reached underneath the bar and pulled out a bowl of peanuts and began to eat them, one by one.

"Well, you know, it was just Carly and Troy, and they weren't even that subtle about it." Caitlin pointed to the back of the bar with a peanut in her hand. "They made a racket coming in through the side door, and I was just in the basement going through the kegs. I'd sent Lardo home for the night, so I grabbed my baseball bat, saw someone who was not my husband, and hit them in the knee." Caitlin popped a few more peanuts into her mouth. "And he went down, and then I realized it was Carly, so I hit him again." She smiled to herself, "He sold Troy out immediately; I didn't even know he was there, yet." She finished her peanuts and rested her cheek on her palm. "They were just here to rob the register, and they didn't get the chance to. I don't think they're going to try again." Connor finished writing in his notebook and looked back up at Farmer.

"And that was the only incident you had with them this week? You didn't see or hear anything strange last night, say around midnight?" Farmer's brow furrowed and she tapped the fingers of her free hand on the bar. She lifted her head from her hand and looked at Connor.

"I don't remember anything strange. Nursey was in here talking about his latest book, and we had Marty, Thirdy, and Guy drinking in that corner as usual. Let's see, who else was here." Caitlin looked around the bar, and Connor followed her gaze. Tony kept looking at Connor, though his partner didn't seem to notice. Shitty was at the bar flirting with Lardo." Caitlin looked between Connor and Tony. "Can you believe those two still haven't gotten together? We all know they're sweet on each other." Connor cleared his throat, and Tony felt his face go red.

"Ms. Farmer, if you could please stay on topic." Caitlin pursed her lips but went back to looking around the bar, like she was trying to place people in seats. 

"Yeah, yeah. Where was I -- oh, yeah, so Shitty was at the bar, and I think Johnson came by with a delivery at, hmm, nine o'clock? I have the sign ticket around somewhere with the actual time, but I know he dropped off some new pint glasses. Nursey has a habit of breaking them when he's getting into his explanations. Hands go everywhere, you know?" Tony couldn't help but let out a small snort of laughter, but stifled himself when he realized Connor wasn't smiling.

"You're certain you saw Johnson at nine?" Caitlin bit her lip and then turned to the side of the bar and started going through papers.

"Yeah, one second. Ah! Here it is." Caitlin looked at the package ticket. "Yep, here it is: 9:13 pm. And he didn't stay after, said he had somewhere to be." Caitlin handed the slip to Connor, who tucked it into his notebook. "He was muttering about plot points, or something? You know him, he always said strange things." Caitlin crossed her arms on the bar once more. "But that's the last I saw him." She frowned. "Chris wasn't the one who found him, right? I just- I don't want him to have to deal with that." Her eyes were bright and Tony reached his hand out to rest over hers.

"Ollie and Wicks found him. Chowder never even saw the body." Caitlin rested her other hand on top of Tony's before pulling both of them back and wiping at her eyes.

"Well. If you boys have any other questions, ask away." She took a deep breath and put her hands on her hips. Connor looked to Tony.

"I'm all set, unless you have anything else to add." Tony stood from his chair, then stopped.

"You didn't happen to see Swoops last night, did you?" Caitlin shook her head. 

"No, actually. There weren't any Aces in my bar last night." Tony glanced at Connor before looking back to Farmer.

"Do they usually come in?" Connor pulled his notebook back out.

"Yeah, I usually have one or two of them drinking at night, every night. It's not always the same guys every night, but one of them usually finds their way here. It is kind of weird that none of them rolled through last night." Caitlin's eyes widened as she looked at Tony. "You don't think-"

"We aren't sure about anything, yet, Ms. Farmer. And we'd ask you not to spread any rumors while the investigation is ongoing." Caitlin's mouth clicked shut and she nodded. 

"Got it. Anything else?" Tony shook his head.

"Just give us a call if you think of anything else." She gave him a thumbs up.

"Will do, Inspector. You boys have a good rest of your day, okay?" Connor tipped his hat and started for the door. Tony waved before following his partner outside.

As they emerged from the bar, Tony held a hand up to block out the sun. The inside of the bar was definitely nice, but he wasn't ready to walk out into bright sunlight. Tony blinked a few times before lowering his hand, the brightness making it look like Connor was glowing. Tony was struck again by how handsome Connor was, even just standing there unlocking the door to their car. His attention was ripped away from his partner by the honking of a horn, and the both of them looked into the street where Miss Ford was waving from the driver's seat of her automobile. She pulled in next to where Connor was standing and parked.

"Hello, Inspectors! Did I miss anything exciting?" Connor's mouth turned down, but Tony saw the crinkles next his eyes that only appeared when he was happy. Connor stood up straighter, and held a hand out to help Miss Ford out of her automobile.

"The only interesting thing we found is that Ms. Farmer didn't have any of the Aces enter her bar last night, which she found rather strange. Did you discover anything in your journey to the car shop?" Tony found the image of Connor holding Miss Ford's hand made a weird feeling bubble up in his stomach, and he had to blink rapidly to get himself to look away. The two of them together were beautiful.

"Oh, Dex and I had an interesting conversation, but nothing pertinent to the case, I'm afraid. Has the good doctor gotten back to you about the cause of death?" Tony finally came around to Connor's side just in time for Miss Ford to step into the space next to Connor, and the two of them bumped into each other. Tony felt his face start to burn as his hands shot out to grab at Miss Ford's arms to keep her on her feet. Behind her, Connor rested one hand on the side of her waist and reached out his other hand to steady Tony by the shoulder. Miss Ford took another step backwards until she bumped into Connor's chest and he tightened his grip on her waist, but didn't otherwise move. Tony was close enough to Miss Ford that he could see the exact brown of her eyes, and the way her dark skin flushed as she found her footing. 

"Are you two alright?" Connor's voice was terribly soft, not breaking the bubble the three of them found themselves in, and Tony could barely tear his eyes away from Miss Ford's to answer him.

"Yeah, Connor, thanks." Tony felt the blush creep up from his collar; Connor's eyes were golden honey in the sunlight, and Tony had a vision of angels. Miss Ford's grip tightened just below his elbows and she took a deep breath before answering.

"Just perfect, Inspector. It's a lucky thing you're so steady as to catch us." Tony watched as the corners of Connor's eyes softened as his mouth lifted into a rare smile.

"Always, Miss Ford. Besides, I couldn't let my partner fall, now could I?" Connor's eyes flicked from Tony to Miss Ford and back, before he seemed to realize their proximity and how it might look to others. He cleared his throat and straightened, releasing Miss Ford and Tony at almost the same time, though his hands seemed to hover for a moment before fully pulling away. Connor cleared his throat again, and looked almost panicked. "Now, we should be getting to the morgue." Connor pulled away from the two of them awkwardly, extremely stiff as he rounded the car to climb into the driver's seat.

"If you'll excuse me, Miss Ford." Tony withdrew from her, but she grabbed his lapel before he could get too far.

"Uh, Inspector," she began, not quite meeting Tony's eye. "I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me to dinner tonight." Her hand was tight on his lapel and Tony spared a moment to worry about wrinkles. Then the content of Miss Ford's words sunk in. Tony's mouth dropped open, and a strange croaking sound came out, which caused Tony to flush even redder. He cleared his throat.

"I would love to join you at dinner, Miss Ford, but, um, don't you think we should wait until this investigation is over?" Tony stumbled over his words, but Miss Ford released his jacket all the same. She brushed invisible dust off of her dress and pulled at Tony's jacket to straighten it out. She reached out to tighten his tie for good measure and he held his breath when the tips of her fingertips brushed along his neck above his collar. He swallowed, suddenly feeling like a gangly college freshman getting asked to Winter Screw.

"I think by the time this investigation is over, I may lose my nerve, so dinner tonight in my dining room. I expect you at 6pm sharp." Miss Ford looked Tony in the eye long enough for him to nod once, then she turned gracefully on her heel and got into her automobile. Tony let out a breath and stumbled over to the police car. He shook his head before getting in the car. Connor was waiting for him.

"What just happened?" Tony took another deep breath and stared at his hands in his lap. "Tango?"

"Miss Ford just asked me to dinner. Tonight. With her." Tony swallowed and looked up at Connor. His jaw was dropped, and his eyes were wide. "Whiskey, what do I wear?" Tony didn't know what his face looked like, but a startled laugh burst out of Connor before he clapped a hand over his mouth. "Whiskey, come on, this is serious! Miss Ford asked me out on a date!" Tony watched as Connor stopped laughing, saw the way his brown eyes shuttered with no sunlight to turn Connor to gold.

"You'll look great in anything, Tango." Connor wouldn't look at Tony, and started the car with a jerk of the keys in the ignition. There was a heavy pressure in the car for the ride to the morgue, and there was no more talk of Tony's date. Tony almost hoped that Ransom would have a lot to say, because he had a feeling he wasn't going to get anything out of his partner, or Miss Ford, for the next few hours at the very least.

* * *

Connor considered himself a rational man. He considered himself to be thoughtful and moderately unselfish, as well as professional and courteous. So, no, he wouldn't say anything to Tony or Miss Ford regarding their rendezvous later that day. He swallowed, once, and pushed open the door to the autopsy room.

"Ah, Inspector Whisk! And Inspector Tangredi! You've just missed Miss Ford, Ransom just started on Mr. Johnson." Adam Birkholtz stood from where he was going over papers at his desk. "Follow my, boys, they're just through here." Connor followed Adam through the door and blinked at the harsh brightness of the autopsy room lights. "Ransom, your Inspectors are here." Dr. Oluransi looked up from where he was elbow deep in John Johnson's chest. Miss Ford was standing next to him, peering into the chest cavity. 

"Hello, Inspectors. You've come at an opportune time. I've just found something very interesting." Connor continued into the room, conscious to stand at a distance from both Miss Ford and Tony. He didn't look at either of them.

"What have you got for us, Doctor?" Connor kept his gaze fixed on Dr. Oluransi, careful to not look just off of his right shoulder, where Miss Ford was. Ransom pulled Johnson's liver from his body and put it into a metal tray. He then gestured Connor closer with one hand, pointing with the other.

"See this, here?" He gestured to Johnson's ribs, four of which were broken. "He suffered a severe beating prior to death, breaking his sixth through ninth ribs. The force was severe enough to send the broken tips or the eighth and ninth ribs," Dr. Oluransi grabbed the metal tray from the side table and showed Connor the liver he'd just pulled out, "Into the liver. He would have bled out and died shortly thereafter, but this isn't what killed him." He put the tray back on the side table. He gestured Connor closer to Johnson's head, and Connor could feel Tony's warmth close to his face as they leaned over the corpse.

"We saw a strike to the back of his head at the crime scene. Are you saying that's what did it?" Connor asked. Dr. Oluransi nodded, gently turning Johnson's head to one side so they could see the back of his head.

"Yeah, right here." He pressed against the hole in Johnson's skull gently with the pads of his gloved fingers. "It was definitely something narrow, but there had to be a way to get enough force to go through the skull with it. You can also tell that it was a blunt object due to the nature of the breaking, so my best guess?" Dr. Oluransi put Johnson's head back down and looked at Connor. "You're looked for something with a shaft, because this required two hands. Your suspect also had to be healthy, and relatively strong, and there couldn't have been just one of them. Not with the damage done to Mr. Johnson prior to his death." Connor looked over the body and took a few seconds to grieve, then collected himself.

"We also think he was moved after death. Is there any evidence you found that makes that plausible?" Dr. Oluransi nodded, beckoning Connor closer to Johnson's head again.

"Yes. Here, and here," he pointed at two streaks of dirt on Johnson's face, "There's clay in that dirt, the kind they use for sports fields and the like. There's also grass collected around the head wound. You don't get that from being hurt in a city alleyway." Connor tapped against where his notebook rested in his pocket, but didn't pull it out.

"Thank you, Doctor. I need to go make some calls, but if you could send along your full report to the station once you finish, that would be most appreciated. Connor turned and left the room without looking back, though he felt bad about leaving Tony behind. He'd just cleared the doors when there was a crash behind him. Before he could even turn, there was a sharp pain in the back of his head, and everything went dark.

* * *

Inspector Whisk was acting strangely, Denice decided. During the entire discussion with Ransom, he hadn't even looked at Tony once, let alone at herself. She didn't understand what had happened on the drive over to the morgue, but it must have been something. Denice watched Tony stare at the door Connor had just left out of, looking pained. She rounded the table to touch him gently on the arm, but he flinched away from her before realizing who she was.

"I'm sorry, Miss Ford. I wasn't paying attention." He looked back to the doorway. "I should be going after him, he seemed in a hurry." Tony didn't move. She kept her hand on his arm, stepping in front of him to catch his eye.

"Inspector, are you alright?" Tony looked down at her, and he blinked before pulling his arm away from her.

"Yes, of course, I'll just be going now." Tony tipped his hat at her, and waved to Ransom. "Have a good day, Doctor." Ransom waved back, and then Tony was gone, the door swinging shut behind him. Denice turned to look at Ransom, who only shrugged.

"Look, Denice, I work with dead people. Alive ones are too confusing." She clicked her tongue at him once before going out the door. Adam waved at her as she passed his desk, and she waved back.

"Have a nice day, Holster." He smiled at her, his teeth showing.

"You, too, Denice! Don't let those boys give you too much trouble." Denice laughed but didn't respond, just going to walk out the door instead. She came out of the hospital into warm sunlight, and to Tony standing in front of his police car, scratching his head.

"Inspector? What's wrong?" Tony turned to look at her, and she saw the fear written on his face. "Tony, what's happened?" Denice came close to him, reaching out but not touching him.

"Connor's gone. He's left me here, and I don't know where he went, but he must have walked, and he has the keys, and I've done something to upset him, but I don't know what and if he won't talk to me we can't solve this case and-" Tony paused to suck in a deep breath, and Denice could see him edging closer to panic with every second that passed. She reached out and cupped the side of his face, forcing him to meet her eyes.

"Tango. I will drive you to the police station. You are going to do your job, and I am going to be there with you. When Connor comes back, we can both give him a stern talking to. Until then you are going to help me find those killers." Tony's breathing slowed down the slightest bit, and Denice took that as a good sign. "Understand?" Tony nodded his head several times in a row, and followed Denice like a puppy as she got into her car. She paid attention to the road the entire drive to the police station, no matter how much she wanted to make sure Tony was okay and to hold his hand. She kept her hands on the wheel, and only took them off when she parked her car in front of the station.

They got out of the car and Tony entered the police station first, shucking his jacket just inside the door before holding his hand out for hers. She gave it to him, and he hung them both on the rack next to the door before going deeper into the station. 

"Bully? Louis? Anyone here?" Denice saw a dark skinned man with a flat top peek his head out from behind an office door. Tony seemed to sag in relief, his whole form getting a little smaller. "Hops, there you are. Do you know where Whiskey got to?" Hops came fully out of the room he was in, pocketing a set of keys as he did so.

"No? He was out with you all morning. Did he tell you he was coming back here?" Tony shook his head and Hops frowned. "That's not like him. Maybe -" The candlestick telephone on the desk rang, startling all three of them. Hops went to answer it, putting the receiver up to his ear. Whoever was on the other end said something that caused Hops to frown harshly, his entire face contorting in despair. After another moment he pulled the receiver away from his ear, although he didn't replace it on the hook.

"What is it, Hops? What happened?" Tony approached Hops, who barely seemed to register him. "Hops, come on, talk to me." Hops looked up at Tony, and Denice stopped breathing at his next words.

"They took him, Tony. Somebody took Whiskey, and they say they're gonna kill him if we don't lay off the investigation." Tony was shaking, and Denice wanted to hold him, but she was stuck still where she was. Connor was in danger, and her heart was twisting in her chest.

"Who's they, Hops?" Tony's voice was terribly still despite his shaking. "Who took him?" Hops shook his head.

"They didn't say, but it was definitely a man's voice.” Hops bit his lip, looking between Tony and Denice. “Tony, what do we do?” Denice looked to Tony, and she saw how wide his eyes were, how bright. Tony clenched his jaw and squared his shoulders.

“We find him, Hops. We find him and we bring him home.”

* * *

There wasn’t much light where Connor was, was the thing. He could hear the sound of the waves, so he knew he was at the docks, he could smell the fishing boats as they unloaded at the end of the day, he just couldn’t see shit. His hands were tied behind his back, and each of his legs was tied to the leg of the chair he was in. Every few hours, the people who’d grabbed him would shine a lamp in his face to disorient him before giving him a couple of slugs across the face. After that came the questioning.

“What do you know about the Johnson murder?” Connor spat out some of the blood that had collected in his mouth from his split lip. There was something oddly familiar about the voice questioning him from the darkness, but Connor couldn’t place it. “Come on, Inspector, don’t keep me waiting. You know what happens.” And, boy, did Connor know what happened. Not speaking got Connor a fist to the face, but it wasn’t enough to deter him from staying silent.

“He’s not gonna crack, bro. We should just dump him in the harbor and be done with it.” A new voice spoke from Connor’s left, and it took a lot from him to not turn his head to try and see who was talking. “We told his partner to stop sniffing around, and it’ll sink in if he finds his boyfriend’s dead body at the bottom of the sea.” The tone had turned mocking when he called Tony Connor’s boyfriend, and Connor clenched his fists to keep from flinching. “Or maybe we just take care of the both of them and call it a day.”

“You don’t touch him.” Connor couldn’t hold himself back anymore. No one laid a hand on Tony as long as Connor was still breathing. The faceless voices laughed.

“Oh, looks like we struck a nerve, bro.” A hand came out of the darkness in front of Connor to smack him across the face. “Waiting for your _ boyfriend _ to save you?” Another smack, and Connor had to swallow down the blood. A hand came from his left and swung across his face, upsetting the chair he was sitting in. As the chair fell over, Connor braced himself for the impact, but it didn’t do much as his head bounced against the floor, leaving him to clench his eyes shut against bright bursts of pain along his temple as his right shoulder let out a loud _ pop _. 

Connor felt his chair moving, distantly, felt it be righted on the floor. There were voices, too, but the cotton in Connor’s head made them impossible to understand. The knife that suddenly appeared at his throat cut through the static, a bit. The steel bit into the skin underneath his chin, and Connor tilted his head back to get away from it. 

There was a skylight above his head. Connor hadn’t noticed it before, but he saw it now with the same detached static he was noticing everything else. It was dark out, and that was important, Connor thought, because it hadn’t been dark out before. It being dark out meant Connor had been here longer than he’d thought. And that wasn’t good because… because… because Tony would come looking for him. And that would put Tony in danger, because these people were hurting him, were going to kill him, and they’d do the same to Tony if he showed up. 

“He’s our only leverage, dude. We can’t go killing him just yet.” A hand came out from beyond Connor’s sight and gripped his chin. The hand moved his head about, like the guy was looking at the damage he’d done. “Besides, I think you roughed him up too much for us to keep asking him questions.” The hand dropped his chin and Connor’s head slumped so that his chin touched his chest. He was so tired, suddenly. It wouldn’t hurt if he just closed his eyes for a little bit, right?

* * *

Tony was losing his mind. Here he was, lying in bed and unable to sleep. Whiskey was out there somewhere and Tony couldn’t do anything about it until they got some more information from whoever the hell had taken him. So, he had to lie here until he could get some semblance of sleep, or until the sun rose. Whichever came first. Otherwise, River would sit on him until Louis brought them breakfast and they could officially start looking for Connor.

Tony sat up, pushing himself so that his back could rest on the headboard. He looked down at the hands in his lap, and wished that he could do something to help Connor. He got up from his bed and paced around his bedroom. When that didn’t settle the nervous energy buzzing in him, he went to the kitchen and pulled out the case notes. He was just re-reading the coroner’s report when there was a knock at his door. Tony got up from the table, and approached the door. With one hand he readied his service revolver, and with the other he pulled the door open, training his aim on the figure in the doorway.

“Good Lord, Inspector, I know we postponed our date but that’s no way to greet a lady!” Miss Ford was standing on his doorstep in a white jumpsuit and a cardigan, with a blue kerchief tying her hair up. “I’m sorry for intruding, but I couldn’t sleep.” Tony was suddenly conscious of the sleep pants he was wearing, and the fact that he wasn’t wearing a shirt. He took a step away from the door, lowering his gun and letting Miss Ford in.

“It seems we have that in common. The files are on the kitchen table, if you’ll excuse me a moment.” Tony closed the door behind her and all but sprinted back to his room, trying his best not to slam his bedroom door. He found a fresh pair of slacks and a clean shirt, leaving his waistcoat and tie on the hangar before taking a deep breath and returning to his kitchen.

“But if… and then… wait, that can’t be right.” Miss Ford was muttering to herself and shuffling between several different papers. Her finger was tapping at a line in the coroner’s report, and she was searching through another document. “Inspector?” Miss Ford’s voice was too loud, and when she looked up she seemed surprised to see him standing there. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you come back.” She pulled a few papers closer to her. “Did you ever send the dirt found on Johnson for analysis?” Tony straightened from his lean against the doorway and came to stand next to her.

“We did, but we couldn’t get anything more specific than general areas.” Tony picked a map of Samwell out from the bottom of the pile of papers. “The red areas are where the dirt could be from. Why?” Tony looked at Miss Ford. “Did you think of something?” She didn’t answer him, just drew the map closer to her, circling a spot with her fingers.

“Inspector, there was clay dirt on my car after the Chad L. case. I wasn’t sure at the time, but it must have been the LAX gang, because look here-” Miss Ford jabbed her finger against the map, pointing at a section of fields the gang had been known to play matches at- “that’s where they play, and it’s also right next to the storage warehouses near the docks where Johnson would have been moving things in and out of.” She looked up at Tony and after a moment he met her eyes. “It must also be where they’re keeping Connor.”

“I have to go after them. God knows what they’ve done to him.” Tony barely registered the look Miss Ford was giving him until he had already had his jacket on and was holstering his gun at his side. “Is something the matter, Miss Ford?” She turned her lips down in a serious frown.

“We are both going after him, Inspector. It’s come to my attention that I care deeply about the both of you, and I couldn’t bear to see anything bad happen to either of you. Not when there was something I could have done to prevent it.” Tony stood up straighter, not focusing as much on buckling his holster as he was on the woman in front of him.

“Miss Ford, I could never ask you to-”

“You are not asking me, Inspector,” Miss Ford cut him off. She pulled a pearl-handled revolver from a holster around her ankle, previously hidden by the pant of her jumpsuit. “I am telling you that I intend to follow your lead.”

* * *

Connor was pretty sure he has a concussion, so it’s only fair that he is heinously out of it when he woke up. He’s surrounded by the guys from before, but this time it’s brighter and he could see exactly who’s kidnapped him: the LAX gang. Specifically, Chads B., H., R., and T. There were a few other guys just beyond where the light reaches, and Connor assumed it’s the other Chads. Connor lifted his head, looking at Chad B.

“So, why’d you kill Johnson?” Chad H. looked at him, but didn’t say anything, turning back to talk to Chad R. Chad T. walked around the back of Connor’s chair and Connor felt a thin line of metal press against his neck.

“Wouldn’t you like to know, pretty boy?” Chad B’s sneer curled his entire face into a frown. “And, ‘sides, you’ve got no proof that it was us. S’not like I’m gonna go giving it to you.” Connor narrowed his right eye, his left too swollen shut to see anything out of.

“Oh, we’ve got proof, dumbass. And you’re going to jail for it.” Chad B. continued scowling, his fists clenching at his sides. He leaned forward close enough that Connor could smell his breath.

“What do you got?” Connor spat in his face. Chad B. recoiled so quickly that it upset the table behind him, knives and bloody sports gear clattering to the ground behind him. Chad B wiped his face off and slugged Connor across the face. Connor’s head whipped to the side and he felt a tooth crack with the impact. “You son of a bitch, you tell me what you know right now!” There were hands clenching at Connor’s collar, shaking him in his chair, and Connor spread his lips in a bloody grin.

“I know you killed him. I know you moved him afterward. I could even tell you that you killed him with a lacrosse stick.” Connor tried his best to focus on Chad B., but there were three of him, so it was hard. “I just want to know why you moved him to that alleyway.” Another punch had Connor’s ears ringing.

“Can’t we just shut him up, bro? He knows too much.” Chad B. looked at Connor, eyeing the injuries Connor assumed he had. Chad B. looked to Chad T.

“Let’s just dump him off the pier, bro. I don’t feel like cleaning up his blood.” Connor felt the knife disappear from his throat, but that didn’t stop ice from shooting down his spine. God, he really didn’t want to die. “Come on, bros, let’s get him up.” Chad B. waved his hand at Connor and the other Chads descended on him, a wad of burlap stuffed into his mouth and tied there with another length of burlap. His hands, while still tied to each other, were cut from the chair, as were his legs, which remained free. He kicked out immediately, catching Chad R. in the thigh.

“Get his legs, come on, bro.” Chad R. looked at Chad H. and together they each grabbed one of Connor’s legs, not tying them together, but using them to carry him, while Chads B. and T. each grabbed Connor around the chest and began to carry him, Connor could only assume, toward the pier. Connor struggled against the men holding him, but it didn’t do much for him.

A gun shot suddenly rang out from behind them, and Chad R. and H. immediately dropped Connor’s legs again to grab their guns and point them at the two newcomers. Connor couldn’t see well from his position pressed against Chad B., but he didn’t have to see to recognize his partner’s voice.

“Samwell Police! Drop your weapons!” Connor struggled against Chad B., desperate to see Tony. All of their talk of hurting him was making Connor anxious about how this encounter would turn out. He turned his head to see his partner outlined in moonlight just in front of the large bay doors. His heart dropped even further when he realized the silhouette standing next to his partner had a familiar shape.

“I think you’re the ones who should put your weapons down, Inspector.” Connor felt a pressure near his sternum, close to his heart. He didn’t dare look down, but from the worried shock on Tony’s face, Connor could guess about the knife being held to his chest. Connor saw Tony raise his hands, gun no longer trained on anyone.

“Just don’t hurt him.” Tony’s voice was shaking, and Connor saw Miss Ford raise her own gun in the air, following Tony’s lead.

“Tony, don’t!” Connor didn’t want Tony to surrender this easy, but Connor was reminded about his situation when he felt the knife press harder against his shirt. He didn’t move, but Chad couldn’t keep him from talking. “Get out of here!” Connor felt the knife press more insistently still, but he tried to pay it no mind.

“I’m not going anywhere without you, Connor.” Tony never looked away from the knife Chad B. was holding to Connor’s chest.

“Go get Hops, or Bully, or Louis, or-” Connor felt a prick at his chest.

“Oh, shut up, would you?” Chad B. drove the knife into Connor’s chest. Tony’s gun hand immediately came down to aim at the Chads, as did Miss Ford’s.

Connor only realized what had just happened when Tony shot someone, because shooting someone put Connor in danger of being stabbed, so Connor must already _ be _stabbed. A moment later pain bloomed from his chest and it took more energy than Connor currently had to keep his eyes open. The last thing he saw was Tony’s face, white in fear, closing in on Chad B.

* * *

_They were younger. They were outside, and it was pouring. Connor remembered this, remembered how his running shoes felt like lead weights after ten miles and hundreds of crunches and pushups and pullups. _

_“Can you believe we’re going to be partners?” Someone Connor was only vaguely familiar with came over to him and slung his arm around Connor’s shoulders. His eyes were impossibly blue, and the grin he turned on Connor stretched his cheeks impossibly wide. The way Connor’s heart flipped in his chest wasn’t anything new to him, but it had never been caused by this person before._ _ “You can call me Tony!”_

_“Connor.” Connor didn’t smile, barely looked at Tony again once he was able to tear his eyes away. It was cold, and dark, and the rain didn’t seem to want to let up any time soon. Tony pulled Conner fractionally closer with the arm around his shoulder and punched him gently in the arm. _

_“C’mon, Inspector Whisk, let’s go!”_

* * *

Tony thinks his heart might have stopped when Connor got stabbed in the chest. Things happen in a blur after that. He knows he shot Chad R. in the leg, and he vaguely remembers Miss Ford chasing after Chad H. Chad B. was still holding Connor close to him, even if Tony’s partner was barely conscious enough to support his own weight. It’s making it nearly impossible for Tony to get a clear shot on Chad B., but Chad T. was open and unprotected, so Tony wasted no time in dispensing two bullets in the man’s chest.

“Let him go, Chad.” Tony trained his weapon on Chad B. again, not wanting to take his eyes off the criminal any longer than he had to. Not when he had stabbed Connor. A shot went off behind Tony, but he barely flinched when he heard a man’s shout, and not a woman’s. Miss Ford could handle herself, after all.

“What are you gonna do if I don’t, Inspector?” Chad’s voice was mocking, a sneer twisting his face. “You gonna shoot me?” Chad drew Connor even more solidly in front of him, and Tony could see the way his own gun hand started to shake. Pointing a gun in Connor’s direction, even indirectly, made his stomach clench. “Did you know that he begged us not to hurt you?” Chad’s sneer became even more pronounced. “Said we could do whatever we wanted to him as long as we didn’t hurt his precious _boyfriend_?” Chad spat the word like something disgusting, and all of Tony’s fear coalesced into anger.

How dare Chad hurt Connor? How dare he act like caring about other people was sickening, how dare he use Tony and Connor and their feelings against one another? Tony’s hand stopped shaking and he took aim.

Watching the bullet rip through Connor’s shoulder would haunt Tony’s nightmares for months to come, but the relief at seeing Chad B. fall to the ground behind him let Tony holster his gun and rush to Connor’s side.

“C’mon, Whiskey, wake up.” Tony slapped his hand gently against Connor’s cheek, trying to rouse his partner. “Whiskey, please, you gotta wake up.” Tony registered Miss Ford coming around to kneel on Connor’s other side, her hands going to his neck to find a pulse.

“We’ve got to get him out of here, Tony.” Tony looked around at the bodies lying on the warehouse floor, Chad R. still writhing on the ground in pain. “We need to get him to Ransom.” Tony nodded, only half aware of what he was doing as he picked Connor up with all the care he could muster. Connor’s eyelids fluttered with the disturbance and probable pain that came with the action and Tony winced for him.

The drive to Ransom’s clinic passed in a haze, Tony only aware of the man in his arms and the weakening pulse he could feel every time he pressed his hand to Connor’s chest. He gathered Connor close to his chest when they got to Ransom’s, getting out of the automobile as gently as he could, not wanting to jostle his partner.

“You’re gonna be okay, Whiskey. You’re gonna be fine.” Tony was barely holding himself back from crying, if only because crying felt like giving up on Connor and there was no way that Tony was going to do that. Miss Ford led the way in front of him, pulling open doors and calling for Ransom to help them. The doctor appeared from out of nowhere, and he guided Tony to a cot to place Connor on. Holster was there, too, suddenly, ushering them out so that Ransom could operate on Connor. Tony prayed that the last time he saw Connor wouldn’t be in the slit of the closing door, a knife being pulled out of his chest.

* * *

_They were younger. They were outside, and the sun was blinding. Connor remembered this moment, remembered how his heart swelled for the first time as his soon-to-be partner came up next to him._

_“Can you believe we’re going to be partners?” Anthony Tangredi was all smiles, even though their unit had just been made to run ten miles with crunch, pullup, and pushup stations scattered throughout the trail. Their maroon shirts were soaked through with sweat, but Anthony acted like he didn’t feel it as he slung an arm around Connor’s shoulders. “You can call me Tony!” Connor couldn’t muster the energy to smile at him, even as he fell for wide blue eyes and a grin that stretched ear to ear. A smile brighter than the sun._

_“Connor.” Connor’s brusque reply didn’t even seem to faze Tony, as he reached over to gently punch Connor in the shoulder, Tony’s other arm still around him making it impossible to dodge._

_ “C’mon, Inspector Whisk, let’s go!”_

* * *

They weren’t allowed into his room, at first. Holster was rushing around the floor, calling for people Denice didn’t know. He only stopped to see them, once.

“He’s still in surgery. The knife punctured his lung, and it caused his chest cavity to fill with blood.” Holster fidgeted, tugging at the hem of his scrub shirt. “Ransom isn’t sure if he’s going to make it.” It was a good thing Denice was already sitting, because that news would have made her drop to the floor. Next to her, Tony wailed, fresh tears springing to his eyes as he seemed to collapse in on himself. Holster kept shifting his weight from foot to foot, and Denice looked back at up at him.

“Anything else?” Her voice wavered, but she refused to cry. Connor wasn’t dead, not yet, and she would be damned before she acted like he was. Even if she was cold down to her core, and shaking like a leaf in the wind.

“I’ll let you know when you can see him.” With that, Holster turned, and Denice prayed to every god out there that they wouldn’t have to see Connor’s lifeless body whenever Holster came back. Tony was still sobbing, his whole body wracked and quaking.

“He’s going to be okay, Tango.” Denice leaned over the arm of the waiting room chair to pull Tony’s head to her shoulder, where he wasted no time in soaking her shirt with tears. Tears sprung to her own eyes, and she blinked them back.

“I can’t lose him, Miss Ford. I can’t, I can’t, _I can’t_.” Denice raked her fingers through Tony’s hair, making little shushing sounds to calm him. “I love him, I can’t lose him, I don’t know what I’ll do-” Tony’s words cut off with a choking sob, his howling beginning anew.

“He’s going to be okay, Tango. He’s going to be okay, and we’re going to tell him we love him, and he will love us back, and we are all going to be okay.” Denice was fighting a losing battle against her tears, and the first began to fall as she imagined that golden future.

“I just can’t lose him, Miss Ford. He’s too much to me. He’s my everything.” Tony looked up from her shoulder. “I love you, but you have to know I love him, too.” Denice placed a kiss on Tony’s forehead, and barely pulled back when a throat cleared to the side of them.

“He’s not awake, but you can go see him.” Holster was standing there, and he wasted no time in leading them to Connor’s room. Ransom was standing outside the door, his face drawn.

“He’s lost a lot of blood, but he pulled through. We don’t know when he’s going to wake up, but we know he will.” He stood aside to let them through the doorway. Just before they entered, Ransom laid a hand on Tony’s arm. “It was a good shot, Tony. Saved his life.” Ransom let go of Tony and followed Holster away down the hall. They were alone, facing the door to Connor’s room.

Denice didn’t know what to expect when they entered Connor’s hospital room. Her inspectors had never gotten hurt before, not like this. Denice found that the worry stayed like iron in her stomach, sinking it to her shoes whenever she closed her eyes and saw the instant Connor got stabbed.

“Oh, Tango, what are we going to do?” Denice watched as Tony paced back and forth, fists clenching at his sides. She couldn’t imagine what he must be going through, having been the one who’d gotten to Connor first, having been the one who’d shot _through_ Connor to take down Chad B. Ransom had been adamant that Tony’s shot had been clean, had only gone through some muscle and by itself wouldn’t have been terrible.

“We’re going to wait for Whiskey to wake up,” Tony’s voice was shaking, and Denice had to concentrate on what he was saying, “And then we’re going to give him a stern talking to for making us worry.” Denice couldn’t help the laugh that came bubbling out of her. It was just like her inspector to try and make her feel better by using her own words from earlier.

* * *

_They were younger. Connor remembered this, but he didn’t remember it being so bright. There was a light on his left, and it seemed to be calling to him. He took a step toward it, but he got cut off._

_“Can you believe we’re going to be partners?” Anthony Tangredi was all smiles, and Connor remembered this. The light got brighter, and the call intensified. Anthony’s arm was steel as he wrapped it around Connor’s shoulders, stopping him from answering the call. “You can call me Tony!” Connor watched as Tony’s smile got wider, and Connor felt his own lips twitch up in answer._

_“I’m Connor.” Tony reached over to punch Connor lightly in the shoulder, Tony’s other arm still around him making it impossible to dodge._

_“I know.” His smile softened. “We’re waiting for you.” Tony looked over to the silhouette of a woman some ways down the dirt path they’d just run. There was a dress billowing around her calves and a scarf in her hair. Tango nudged him in her direction, away from the light. “C’mon, Inspector Whisk, let’s go.”_

* * *

When Connor woke up, he was only vaguely aware of where he was. There were the clean, bright whites of a hospital room, but there was also a pressure along his right side that was unfamiliar and threw him off. Blinking his eyes open, he came to realize that the warmth pressing along his ribcage was his partner, Tony’s head tucked underneath his chin. There was also a private inspector on his other side, holding his hand in her sleep. Careful of the tubes connecting him to various machines, Connor adjusted his hand so that he was holding her hand back, instead of hers just grasping lightly at his.

There was a gentle flutter of eyelashes against Connor’s neck, and Tony rose up from his place almost on Connor’s chest. Connor watched as Tony sat up and looked at him for a few seconds before he registered that Connor was awake. He watched as Tony opened his mouth, before realizing that a third of their party was still asleep and shutting it. Instead, his fingers brushed against Connor’s left temple, trailing down his face and neck until his hand rested against Connor’s heart, two inches below where Connor had been stabbed. There was something almost magical about how Tony removed his hand from Connor’s chest and ran his fingers against Miss Ford’s cheek where her head was pillowed on her arms. She woke up slowly, and the smile she turned on Connor when she sat up was blinding.

“How are you doing, Connor?” Connor took stock of his injuries. His chest hurt, for certain, but little else was bothering him.

“I’ll live.” Connor smiled as Miss Ford let out a scandalized gasp and lightly smacked his forearm.

“Now is no time for jokes like that, Connor! You don’t know how worried we were!” Connor’s smile stretched even wider, even as he felt the beginnings of tears in his eyes.

“I wasn’t sure I’d ever see you both again.” Miss Ford blinked several times in quick succession, and Tony let out a faint whine on his other side. He swung his head around to look at his partner.

“Don’t talk like that. You’re here now, you’re alive, you’re awake. That’s all that matters.” Tony grabbed for his right hand, and then Connor was holding both their hands, and his heart rate kicked up. He had a choice to make, and it was terrifying. He swallowed, once, then cast his eyes down to his lap.

“I’ve got something to tell you. Both of you.” A gentle hand under his chin lifted his head as Miss Ford made Connor look at her.

“Oh, Connor. We love you, too.” It was like being stabbed again, the way all of the air left his lungs. How had they known? How long had they known? They loved him _back_? All panicked thought left him as Miss Ford closed the distance between them and placed a gentle kiss on the corner of his lips. He couldn’t help the way his eyes widened, how he couldn’t stop staring at her as she pulled back. Another hand came up to cup his cheek, and Tony turned his head towards him, another gentle kiss placed square on his mouth. This time, he was moderately more prepared, and kissed Tony back, soft and sweet. Tony pulled away.

“How did you know?” Connor looked back over to Miss Ford. She smiled at him.

“I’ve got eyes, Inspector. You never hid how you looked at him.” Her eyes flicked to Tony and she reached out to hold his hand as well. Tony looked at her, and his returning smile was soft. “As for your feelings for me…” Miss Ford readjusted her glasses on her face, her face darkening with a flush. “I didn’t know for sure. But I hoped.” Connor swallowed against the new lump in his throat.

“But how…” He looked down at his lap, where he was still holding Tony and Miss Ford’s hands. “How do we make this work?” Tony’s thumb brushed gently against his knuckles, and he looked up at his partner.

“We talk about it. Figure out how we want to work. And we love each other.” Connor swallows again.

“It doesn’t sound that hard, when you put it like that.” Miss Ford’s delicate laugh makes them both look to her.

“Love isn’t supposed to be hard, Inspector.” She looks between both of them. “Work, for certain, but hard? Never.” Connor shifts where he sits, pulls Tony and Miss Ford to his chest where their hands are still connected. Tony goes easy, laying his head just below Connor’s right shoulder. Miss Ford frets a moment longer, careful of his bandages and wounds, before settling her head on Connor’s other bicep, slinging her arm around his waist to fall on Tony’s back.

“It’s a good thing you both are so easy to love, then.” There’s a sniffle from underneath Connor’s chin, and Tony rubs at his eye. “Also, Miss Ford, I think you might be able to start calling us by name now that we’ve kissed.” Tony’s laugh is loud, and Connor tries to match it, but the pain in his chest reminds him that that’s a bad idea.

“Well, Inspector, you could certainly call me Denice. I wouldn’t mind.” Connor used his arm to pull her closer to him. “Although, would I call you Connor, or Whiskey?” Every thought of Connor’s left his brain.

“Tony,” Connor kept his voice even. “What did I say about professional settings?” Tony went still on Connor’s chest, though he made no move to leave his spot.

“That nicknames weren’t to be used?” Tony’s voice was hesitant, but Connor could feel the smile forming on the face against his chest. Connor moved his hand so that he was more solidly gripping Tony by the waist.

“And what did you tell Denice about, in a professional setting?” There were giggles from the two people Connor held, and his heart melted in his chest. He got this. He got to love them both.

“I told her our nicknames?” Once Tony finished speaking, Connor dug his fingers into Tony’s side, a well-known ticklish spot on his partner. The shrieking laughter brought a smile so wide to Connor’s face that his cheeks hurt. On his other side, Denice didn’t move, just laughed and laughed at Tony’s struggles against Connor’s hand. “I yield, I yield!” Connor moved his hand away from Tony’s side to come up and run his fingers through his hair. Tony kept laughing a few moments more before settling back on Connor’s chest.

“Okay, but seriously, you two, what is my nickname going to be?” Denice was smiling, and her hand drifted up and down Tony’s side, avoiding his ticklish spots.

“Oh, I know!” Connor felt Tony’s jaw moving against his chest. “We can call you Foxtrot!” Connor huffed out a laugh, listening as his partners laughed as well. Yeah, they were going to be just fine.

**Author's Note:**

> god i love me a happy ending. I'll be posting another bang fic in a few weeks, this time for the YJ big bang, and then i've got a few smaller projects I've been working on and off on. expect them sometime soon now that I've got these two monsters out of the way!
> 
> AND CHECK OUT THE ART!!!! https://shadowfaerieammy.tumblr.com/post/189020094483/here-are-my-submissions-for-the-omg-check-please


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